More Than 100 "Uncontacted" Tribes Exist In Total Isolation From Global Society

The Brazilian government used to conduct "first contact" expeditions to find these tribes, believing that this was the best way to protect them. But they've since discontinued these expeditions in favor of the occasional status flyover.

FUNAI seeks to protect these uncontacted tribes, as well as other indigenous people of the Amazon River Basin, with infrequent flyovers, checking to see if they've moved locations or if loggers are illegally encroaching on their lands.

But in Amazonian countries with fewer resources to police the region, like Peru — home to some 15 identified uncontacted tribes — conservationists struggle to protect the region and its isolated inhabitants from loggers and prospectors.